Eliphaz

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanites replied:

2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions

or fill their belly with the hot east wind?t

3 Would they argue with useless words,

with speeches that have no value?u

4 But you even undermine piety

and hinder devotion to God.v

5 Your sinw prompts your mouth;x

you adopt the tongue of the crafty.y

6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;

your own lips testify against you.z

7 “Are you the first man ever born?a

Were you brought forth before the hills?b

8 Do you listen in on God’s council?c

Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?d

9 What do you know that we do not know?

What insights do you have that we do not have?e

10 The gray-haired and the agedf are on our side,

men even older than your father.g

11 Are God’s consolationsh not enough for you,

wordsi spoken gently to you?j

12 Why has your heartk carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

13 so that you vent your ragel against God

and pour out such wordsm from your mouth?n

14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,

or those born of woman,o that they could be righteous?p

15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,q

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,r

16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,s

who drink up evilt like water!u

17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;

let me tell you what I have seen,v

18 what the wise have declared,

hiding nothing received from their ancestorsw

19 (to whom alone the landx was given

when no foreigners moved among them):

20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,y

the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.z

21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;a

when all seems well, marauders attack him.b

22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;c

he is marked for the sword.d

23 He wanders aboute for food like a vulture;f

he knows the day of darknessg is at hand.h

24 Distress and anguishi fill him with terror;j

troubles overwhelm him, like a kingk poised to attack,

25 because he shakes his fistl at God

and vaunts himself against the Almighty,m

26 defiantly charging against him

with a thick, strong shield.n

27 “Though his face is covered with fat

and his waist bulges with flesh,o

28 he will inhabit ruined towns

and houses where no one lives,p

houses crumbling to rubble.q

29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,r

nor will his possessions spread over the land.s

30 He will not escape the darkness;t

a flameu will wither his shoots,v

and the breath of God’s mouthw will carry him away.x

31 Let him not deceivey himself by trusting what is worthless,z

for he will get nothing in return.a

32 Before his timeb he will wither,c

and his branches will not flourish.d

33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,e

like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.f

34 For the company of the godlessg will be barren,

and fire will consumeh the tents of those who love bribes.i

35 They conceive troublej and give birth to evil;k

their womb fashions deceit.”